A cartoonist says he’s “gobsmacked” by claims his illustration depicting an asylum seeker chasing a nurse is racist.

The drawing appeared in the Daily Telegraph on Monday and has been described as “fear-mongering” by former race discrimination commissioner Tim Soutphommasane.

The cartoon shows an asylum seeker chasing a nurse in reference to a current court case where an Afghan asylum seeker has been accused of groping two nurses

NOW | Is this cartoon racist?

Cartoonist Warren Brown joins @BenFordham to defend his work #auspol pic.twitter.com/pNTgpYIoXg

— Ben Fordham Show (@SydneyLive2GB) February 14, 2019

But the man responsible for the illustration, Warren Brown, tells Ben Fordham it’s “not about race, it’s about crime”.

“I’m just gobsmacked by the response that’s happened to this cartoon.

“It’s just typical of what seems to be going on in Australia at the moment. We are genuinely losing our identity through this kind of virtue signalling.”

Click PLAY below to listen to the full interview.

Do you think the cartoon is racist?

Let Ben know – ben@2gb.com